Caprice engine swap?

[kevm14]

A little more playing with options and rarity on the STS.

This is not comprehensive but I honed in on some key options.

2005 STS V8s with FE3, K59 (adaptive cruise), 3.42 axle (RWD) and the 1SG package: 567
2006 STS V8s with same: 349
2007 STS V8s with FE3, K59, RWD and 1SG package: 628 (these have 3.23)

Adds up to 1,544. I did not do 2008 or newer yet. The V8 just becomes less and less common with the introduction of the DI V6.

They seem to go no higher than a 3.23 axle with RWD and a 6-speed auto. The end result with 3.23s and the 6L50 is a steeper first and taller top gear (6th) than 3.42 and the 5L50. I guess this is what I said before. According to EPA testing, this was only worth 1 mpg in the highway rating and no change in city.

I found one unicorn and it is AWD.

https://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/6085618447.html

2005 CADILLAC STS4 V8 NORTHSTAR - $5995 (south amboy)
Clean Carfax No Accidents 28 service Records Low Miles Very well maintained looks and run Like new Fully Loaded
Financing Available Plz call

I believe this has everything I want, including the adaptive cruise. FE3. 1SG.

RPO E2C ORDER TO DELIVERY - EXPEDITE TO CUSTOMER

Does that mean this was a special order? That's cool.

Miles are reasonable. Price is reasonable. Looks pretty clean except for a weird darker paint line or something on the rear bumper. Pass side headlight has some crap in it. I should look at another white one to see if they all have that.

I am fine with the color combo. It is hard enough to find what I want. Black interior would have been nice but I am fine with the white exterior. I believe this is white diamond tricoat which is a really nice color, but famously impossible to color match when doing body work.

I need a pic of the driver's seat. It is suspiciously missing. One common thing is this plastic trim that goes around the seat bottom cracks or otherwise comes off. The only other thing I guess I'd be suspicious of is just a worn seat.

A little more fun with RPO codes on this car. White diamond was a full 20% of 2005 STS V8s. This despite the color being a $1000 upgrade color. It is a nice color.

I ran the car for rarity by selecting 21 RPO codes that I thought would differentiate the car. In this exterior color, 1SG, AWD, with FE3, the K59 adaptive cruise, and this interior color, they made 249 cars like this. This is 1.4% of 2005 STS V8s.

Most rare individual RPO: rear spring selections. 1,573 cars
Next most rare: Medium dark cashmere leather trim. 2,440
Next most rare: springs again. 2,561
Most rare actual option: Adaptive cruise w/ HUD. 3,006 cars.

[kevm14]

Pretty similar car to the one in NJ: https://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/6096779319.html

I just ran the VIN and did an RPO comparison. They ARE the same. The differences are the computer selected springs, and the NC car does not have E2C ORDER TO DELIVERY - EXPEDITE TO CUSTOMER.

So we are looking for 2 of those 249 are for sale on CL right now.

The one in NJ has lower miles and a better price. And is WAAAY closer. So that's something. But that's crazy.

[kevm14]

I put the Carfax in Word and bolded the repair/inspection stuff.

Like I said, pretty good history. Maybe the best I have seen.

A risk area based on the car's operational area is corrosion. The good news is, this was dealer maintained and quite possibly was garaged. First owner lease out of northern Ohio. Bad area for salt/rust. But that was less than 3 years and a little under 40k. Then it went to Long Island. Not great I suppose. It was a CPO car.

Things that stand out....fuel injection system flush/service and fuel filter by the first owner. Makes me wonder if there was a drivability problem. Coolant flush with second owner. I like that. That was March of 2011 at 54k. It really didn't need to be done then but it works for me.

Ignition coil with first owner. Inside door handle replaced with second owner.

Lots of oil changes, inspections, checking and so on. Good stuff. Looking forward to pics tomorrow.

[kevm14]

For Bill:
https://www.njportal.com/MVC/TempTags/Default.aspx

As I said, I think this costs them money.

Create a login account to access temp tags. You will require a My New Jersey account, your dealership license number, the driver's license number of a principal owner, and either a credit card or bank account if you wish to store your payment information.

What is Temp Tags?
Temp tags is New Jersey's brand-new Temporary Vehicle Tag service designed and built for dealerships to streamline the process of issuing and managing temporary vehicle tags.
 
Features:
Fast. Issue a temp tag in less than 5 minutes.
Easy. A temp tag is available to print immediately from your computer...no more hand-written forms, control paper, and log books!
Secure. All information is transmitted and stored securely.

The number is registered with the state and then printed by the dealer. As to the actual cost, I don't know, but a fee is reasonable.

[kevm14]

Oh man this car is so fancy.

The amount of customization that is possible is just crazy. Random example:

Passenger Window Lockout: You can choose whether or not to have the front passenger window deactivated as part of the window lockout button. If you would like the passenger window to be deactivated when the window lockout button is pushed, choose this feature. If this feature is left off, the window lockout button located on the door will deactivate only the rear windows. When this is on, the button next to this feature name will appear highlighted.

Unfortunately they kind of bury the MR suspension modes rather than having a direct switch as is more common in newer cars.

Suspension: If your vehicle has this feature, you can select between performance or touring modes. Performance mode is used where road conditions or personal preference demand more control. This setting provides more “feel” or response to road conditions. Touring mode is used for normal city and highway driving. This setting provides a smooth, soft ride.

Bob will like that feel is in quotes. I recall a blurb from somewhere that said leaving it in Tour most of the time is sufficient. Better ride and handling doesn't seem to suffer.

Apparently you can tilt the nav screen between 3 positions, presumably to help with glare. The difference in technology between this car and my CTS-V seems more like the difference between a 3-series and a 7-series. It's not even close. What's also interesting is there is also a lot more going on here than the SRX which the STS shares a lot with. I guess that makes sense as the SRX fulfills more of a family car mission even though I guess it is in the luxury class.

[kevm14]

The navigation system’s voice recognition allows for hands-free operation of navigation, phone, audio system, climate controls, windows, OnStar®, and memory features. Voice recognition can be used when the ignition is on or when Retained Accessory Power (RAP) is active.

So unnecessary.

Window Commands
Windows up, windows down: These commands instruct the system to express up or express down the windows. The system will request that you confirm. After the prompt, state “Yes” to confirm or “No” to cancel.

Is this filed under "because we can?"

[bill25]

I think the STS was really their last real luxury car until maybe the CT6 if it delivers.

[kevm14]

I got a bunch of pics and two videos. Again, most thorough effort from anyone selling a car I've ever experienced. He repeated several times that he wants to show me anything I want to see because I am coming from a long way. Of course the pics revealed that the driver's seat and steering wheel are the problems with this car.

Pics and two videos are here: https://1drv.ms/f/s!An5lt1BKvFKdpIRkdqQJSa4H-oH--g

After research I figured I could probably fix the issues for $500 or less, with a few methods available, including: replacing the seat with a junkyard seat, re-dyeing the seat, reupholstering the seat, dying the steering wheel, getting the steering wheel reupholstered or replacing the steering wheel with a junkyard wheel. This color seems susceptible to this issue, as even the clean sister car in NC was starting to have issues with the steering wheel. Black on the other hand, does not seem to.

While I was talking to Bob the dealer called me so I switched calls. I said thanks for the pics but after looking I can't pay $6000 with the driver's seat and steering wheel like that and that I knew he said the price was non-negotiable. He said, well, what did you have in mind and I said $5500. He said, well, I was going to have the seat and steering wheel resprayed on Monday by an upholsterer who does that kind of thing. I was like....oh, well that changes things. Then he said, I could take it as is for $5800 because it was only going to cost him $150 or $200. I asked about what this process is and he said it is fairly common on more expensive cars (he referenced BMW and Mercedes) which have problems like this sometimes. So this is a thing. Just hang on before you make a judgement.

In the end I decided to take it as is for $5800 and deal with it myself.

One spray on product exists from SEM which is a legit brand of 3M-type quality. They actually sell a spray on dye exactly for leathers and vinyls.

https://www.semproducts.com/refinish-fl ... sic-coattm

Here is their marketing video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvIs4ScXrzo

Video from Ghetto Wagon, a famous B-body guy from back in the day coincidentally:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfAmwibom4Y

Another one. Good results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdOF1k5evLs

Different product but I'm thinking this process is more legit than it first appeared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUoPHzdgLf0

For all I know, this is what that guy would use.

A can is $14 and does 10 sq ft with 2-3 light coats. So I think one can should do the entire seat.

I may also need the prep:
https://www.semproducts.com/marine-prep ... ather-prep
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/smm-38354

1 qt is $21 and will last a good while.

And SEM soap:
https://www.semproducts.com/marine-prep-clean/sem-soap
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/smm-39362

$13

So $48 and a bunch of labor. I don't quite know yet how to protect the car but I can look into that. Worst case, I take the seat out.

I could probably use it on the steering wheel but I am going to also look into what it would cost for a professional to re-dye the steering wheel. For all I know it is the same product. Anyway, I have become comfortable with this situation, or I should say more comfortable.

I did not leave a deposit and said I would try to be there around 7pm Monday evening. 7pm is dicey because it gets dark and you know how that goes with used cars. But I really don't have much of a choice. It should be 6pm but will probably be 7pm if I'm being realistic. I will just call before I leave.

He would take a card but passes along the 2% fee. I was trying to avoid going to the bank and he said he would take a personal check. Well that makes it easy.

[kevm14]

2005 STS V6 based at $40,5xx. The V8 was $47,5xx.

[kevm14]

So Bill has this thesis that the STS was finally the true luxury sedan for Cadillac that offered industry leading features and luxury. And that a few short years later, they did nothing to keep up, the CTS has mere parity with the competition and maybe we give the 2016 CT6 credit for coming back to the fight. I never quite agreed with that and now I have evidence.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/5-se ... /sideways/

This is just one article but while the STS was certainly a huge step up for Cadillac after you look back at the FWD Seville, it has mere parity with its 2005 competition. And in plenty of cases, the competition has things it does not: lane departure warning and backup camera, massage seats, backup camera, active steering (to name a few) and it was the slowest car in the test. This also was never a $70,000 car. The one in this test had $11k of options putting it around $58k. The 2006 STS-V was $74k, btw. Anyway, you could price the regular STS up to probably low to mid $60k's if you really tried but remember the base price was $47k for the V8 and most cars probably fell in the $50k's with options. The particular one I am looking at was probably around $65k. Adaptive cruise was a $2300 option on top of the $13k 1SG package.

I just want to be realistic about what the STS was and was not. The fact is the STS barely had parity with the 5-series and that class of cars even back in 2005. And I'd argue the 3rd gen CTS compares more favorably to that class of cars. It is behind in luxury but at least that's because they made a decision to win on the performance side and it's not like anyone would challenge that the CTS is not a luxury car. The STS had parity (with some give and take) in luxury but was behind in performance. I don't see a huge difference there. A difference I do see is the 3rd gen CTS has a better shot at placing above its competitors in testing than the STS did. Actually, the SRX was the better executed car on this platform if you compare to its competition. But that's another post.

Another article just comparing to a previous year 5-series.

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/bmw/5-se ... parison-2/

I see the same give and take type commentary that we see from the current CTS articles. The point is, I won't be having any thoughts while driving the 2005 STS that I am driving the world standard for luxury as of 2005. That just wasn't the case. I haven't even mention that the 7-series, S-class or even VW Phaeton existed at the time. Nice car and I think I will enjoy it, but it wasn't ahead of anything, even in 2005. It was only ahead of itself (previous gen FWD Seville).